Bubbler outlet and deflection plate for water coolers



Dec 11, 1951 J. .1. COREY 2,578,47

BUBBLER OUTLET AND DEFLECTION PLATE FOR WATER COOLERS Filed Sept. 21,1946 2 SHEETSSl-IEET l INVENTOR.

JAMES J. COREY W, @wca W ATTORNE S.

Dec. 11, 1951 J. J. COREY 2,573,947

BUBBLER OUTIJET AND DEFLECTION PLATE FOR WATER COOLER-S Filed Sept. 21,1946 2 Sl-IEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR.

JAMES J. COREY BY fill-4 4",

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE BUBBLER OUTLET ANDDEFLECTION PLATE FOR WATER COOLERS James J. Corey, Elmhurst, N. Y.

Application September 21, 1946, Serial No. 698,548

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to water coolers, and

more in particular to the bubbler spout and deflector plate arrangementon such apparatus. An object of this invention is to provide athoroughly practical and. simple and sturdy construction for the bubblerspout and deflection plate assembly on the top of a Water cooler. Afurther object is to provide a water cooler which will operateefficiently and be attractive even though it is subjected toconsiderable abuse and neglect. A still further object is to provideapparatus of the above character which will meet the most exactingrequirements of use under widely varying conditions. These and otherobjects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out below.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 2 and showing only thedeflector plate or stream breaker; and

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the stream breaker.

In water coolers of the so-called bubbler type a stream of water flowsupwardly from a spout at an angle and it falls into a basin unlessintercepted. The stream should be steady and should not tend to spreadout. Furthermore, the arrangement should be such that relatively widevariations in the water pressure will not cause the water stream toovershoot the basin or to splash. As a practical matter, the basin of aWater cooler is often used as a depository for foreign substances andthese substances are apt to clog up the drain; this is unsanitary andunattractive and it may cause the basin to overflow. The problem ofpreventing the splashing of the water as it falls into the basin isserious because this also tends to make the water cooler unattractive.In the illustrative embodiment of the invention the water does notsplash and the water cooler is always attractive to the user.

Furthermore, the drain is not readily stopped up Eli which is clamped tothe basin by a flange nut I2 snugly received-by pipe I B is a cup [4which has welded to it three evenly-spaced, radial bracket arms I6. CupM has its bottom closed by a Wire mesh strainer I8, and bracket arms l6project upwardly and outwardly along the upper surface of basin 4.Welded to the upper ends of bracket arms 16 is a deflector plate orstream breaker 20 which is a frustrum of a sphere with a down wardlydisposed cylindrical flange 22 at its periphery. 1 1

The stream breaker is rigidly held by the bracket arms so that flange 22is spaced slightly above the surface of the basin to provide an annularslot opening 24 through which water flows from the stream breaker intothe basin. This slot opening is narrow but it extends uninterruptedaround the periphery of the deflection plate; therefore, even though theslot is partially stopped, there is still a sufficient outlet for thewater to flow from the plate. However, most materials which fall intothe basin do not pass through the slot opening but are held around therim of the plate so that they may be removed. Some materials of smallsize may pass through the slot opening, but these are collected instrainer l8. When this occurs the stream breaker is lifted and thiswithdraws the entire bracket assembly, including bracket arms [6 and cup54, and then strainer l8 may be readily cleaned.

Normally, the stream of water from spout 6 strikes the center of thedeflection plate or stream breaker 20 and the water flows smoothly ontoand down the plate without splashing. Variations in the water pressuremay cause changes in the height and trajectory of the stream so that thestream hits the deflection plate at a point away from the center.However, with the deflection plate shaped and positioned as shown, suchchanges in the stream do not result in splashing and the water stillflows onto the deflection plate smoothly and thence downwardly along thedeflection plate in a thin sheet.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and asmany changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is tobe understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

*1. In a water cooler, the combination of, a top portion having anintegral circularbasin formed therein with a water outlet opening at thebottom, a deflection plate having an upwardly convex stream-deflectingsurface centrally positioned within said basin with its peripheryadjacent to but slightly spaced from the basin wall whereby asubstantially annular slot is provided through which water may flow fromthe deflection plate into the basin, a, strainer cup positioned in saidwater outlet opening, a plurality of arms fixed to said strainer cup andextending radially outwardly and fixed at their outer ends to saiddeflection plate thereby to provide support for said deflection plate,and a bubbler spout mounted to direct a stream of water upwardly fromthe side of said basin in such a manner that it will fall on saiddeflection plate unless intercepted.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a

deflection plate comprising, a segment of a sphere presenting anupwardly concave water deflection surface and having at its mriphery adownward ly directed annular flange portion, and a plurality of radialspring arms fixed to the periphery of the deflection plate and extendingradially inwardly therefrom and providing resilient sup port therefor.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 2 which includes, a strainer assemblyfixed to said spring arms and including strainer means extending betweenthe adjacent ends thereof.

4. In a water bubbler and deflection plate construction, the combinationof, a basin portion forming a dish-like basin having a water outletopening at its bottom, a deflection plate assembly positioned withinsaid basin and formed by deflection means presenting an upwardly concavedeflecting surface which is convex upwardly and which is substantially asegment of a sphere and which has its periphery adjacent to but slightlyspaced from the basin wall whereby a slot is provided through whichwater may run from said deflecting surface into said basin and thencethrough said slot to said water outlet opening and supporting means forsaid deflection means, supporting means for the deflection plateassembly comprising a plurality of arms radially positioned with respectto said water outlet opening and each of which is resiliently mountedwith said opening and has its opposite end connected to said deflectionmeans, and a bubbler spout mounted to direct a stream of water upwardlyfrom the side of said basin along a trajectory such that it will fallonto the central portion of said deflecting surface unless intercepted.

JAMES J. COREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 86,158 Houston Jan. 26, 18691,275,719 Miller Aug. 13, 1918 1,312,623 Farley Aug. 12, 1919 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 579,107 Germany June 21, 1933

